Skeptical journalist John Baxter (Tony Roberts) and photographer Melanie (Candy Clark) expose a fraudulent medium who is operating in the infamous Amityville haunted house. Then John surprises Melanie by deciding to buy the house and live in it. John's estranged wife, Nancy (Tess Harper), is also surprised, then disturbed, when John encourages their daughter, Susan (Lori Loughlin), to visit. The house attacks visitors with horrors that include insects and extreme cold and heat. Eventually, parapsychologist Eliot West (Robert Joy) comes to investigate.

AMITYVILLE 3-D jettisons the Roman Catholic trappings of its two predecessors (THE AMITYVILLE HORROR and AMITYVILLE II: THE POSSESSION). In its place is a conflict that pits rationalism (the skeptical journalist) and science (the parapsychologist) against the evil, supernatural house. Director Richard Fleischer used 3-D in making his 1953 Western ARENA and, reportedly, he used it very effectively for AMITYVILLE 3-D. However, in spite of its title, on its nontheatrical releases AMITYVILLE 3-D remains obstinately flat. Fleischer's lively cast includes a young Meg Ryan in one of her first screen appearances.